The Utica Roasting Company at 92 Genesee St. shows off its community pride through a series of coffee blends named for the Utica region. Owner Frank Elias, who operates the business with his partner Heather Delia, talks about the roasting process and the locally named coffees.

Question: On any given day, it’s not unusual to see smoke coming from your building. It smells like cookies, and sometimes folks mistakenly think the building is on fire. What’s causing the smoke?

Answer: It’s a cooking process. We’re basically cooking beans. A lot of that smoke that’s given off is water. We lose about 20 percent of the weight of the coffee in the roasting process. It’s very similar to popcorn. When you heat up popcorn, it expands and pops, and the same thing happens when roasting.

Q: How is the roasting process done?

A: We’ll put in 24 to 25 pounds of coffee beans in the roaster. We’ll let it roast for 15 to 20 minutes. Once it reaches its finished point, we’ll release it into the cooling tray. We let it cool for probably another 15 to 20 minutes. Then, we put it in buckets, and once these buckets are filled, they’re ready for production.

Q: So far, there’s the Utica Buzz, Adirondack Blend and Adirondack Blueberry blends. What makes these coffees different from the others?

A: We’ve had Buzz for awhile. It’s an ultra-caffeinated coffee. It’s popular with the younger generations — the college kids or the ones who would drink Monster and Red Bull. The Adirondack Blend has a citrus tone and the Adirondack Blueberry has a blueberry flavor that really pops when you add sugar.

Q: How does naming the coffee blends with Utica-based themes contribute to community pride?

A: The people that live here really do feel positively about Utica and what it was like to grow up here. I felt that if I could develop a brand that identifies with that (positive connection), that it would not only be a good business model, but it could help revive the area.

Q: What makes the Mohawk Valley special for you?

A: I was born and raised here, I have family here. It’s a good comfortable place to live, and I like it here because of all those things and more.

I Love the Mohawk Valley features unique people and places that make the Mohawk Valley a special place to live. The series can be found at www.uticaod.com/ihmv. Story ideas are encouraged and can be sent to Angelica A. Morrison at amorrison@uticaod.com.